Not too many homeowners think about termites until the damage has already been done. Termites can be difficult to spot if you don’t know what to look for. They are small and quite unassuming. A homeowner could easily think they have a small ant problem, when in fact, they have a substantial termite issue.
As termite experts in Murrieta, California, Knockout Pest Control & Termite wanted to help Murrieta homeowners identify termites early—before they cause extensive damage. On their informative website, they recently published a blog post that talks about the two most common types of termites in Murrieta: the Drywood termite and the Subterranean termite.
The experts at Knockout explain that what you should be looking for when it comes to termites is not necessarily the termites themselves, but the signs of their presence. With Drywood termites, you will start to see small piles of sawdust near the walls or wood structures of your home, and with Subterranean termites, the telltale sign will be small “mud tubes” around the house. If the termites themselves are visible, you can compare them to the pictures on the Knockout website. The site has illustrations of both the winged Drywood species and the Subterranean species of termites in their “Pest Identification” section.
Because termites can be so difficult to spot by the untrained eye, Knockout Pest Control & Termite recommends that homeowners have someone come out for a routine termite inspection every few years, not just when they buy the home and then again when they sell it, like most homeowners do. Knockout explains that you should “…think of [termite inspections] like regular maintenance. Hopefully the termite inspector will find no evidence of termites and you can sleep better at night. But if your inspector does find termites, you can take care of them in a timely manner and hopefully avoid expensive repairs.”
Termites, though small, can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time if left unchecked. If you catch them early enough and the termite problem is still localized, you may only need spot treatment using heat or orange oil. If the infestation is more extensive—affecting multiple locations within the house—you will need to have the entire home fumigated using the “tenting” method. Termite tenting is very effective, but it can be costly and inconvenient, requiring you to vacate your house for a period of time.
Whichever method is needed, make sure you go with an experienced termite control company in Murrieta that will take care of the problem effectively. If the termites have already done some structural damage, you will want to get that repaired once the termites have been eliminated. Some termite companies, like Knockout, offer structural repair services, in addition to pest control.
Nobody wants termites in their home, but if you get regular termite inspections, you may be able to avoid costly damage.
To learn more about Knockout Pest Control & Termite, visit their website: https://www.knockoutpestcontrolandtermite.com/
